Take the sweat of a sheep's wool, add some seeds, honey, marrow, vinegar, ground oyster shells, crocodile dung and poultry fat, and apply generously to your face. If I'd been editing the beauty pages of the Roman Telegraph in 44 BC that is what I would have recommended as a restorative skin tonic: face masks have been used for centuries, the whole point being that they give skin a more intense treatment hit than regular creams or serums - albeit these days with more user-friendly ingredients. Look for masks that excel at one thing - be it deep detox, hydration, de-puff or brightening - and are rich in ingredients that serve that cause: clay, for example, is an excellent pore cleanser, hyaluronic acid is a superb moisture-trapper and skin plumper (so great for instant line-smoothing results), rose clarifies and collagen can help to improve elasticity and tone. Masks with the simplest claims and recipes are best - a beaten egg with a dash of cooking oil makes the best skin firming feed in the world (and it makes your skin glow with health), while ice cubes wrapped in a muslin cloth and stroked over your complexion are brilliant at providing temporary tone.

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Application is key too. To get the most of a face mask do this:
• Apply after exfoliating: a gentle buff primes skin and makes it more receptive to a product, so a mask's ingredients will absorb and take effect more quickly.
• Apply when skin is warm: for the same reasons as above - skin is more receptive when it's warm. In fact the best time to use a mask is when you are in the bath or after you have steamed your face over a bowl of hot water because steam warms skin and makes it pliable (but it doesn't 'open' pores - that is an old wives tale).
• Leave it on for the recommended time - any less and your skin won't get the full benefits.

I have used and fully approved these three masks:

Best for dry skin: By Terry Serenite de Rose
Enriched with extracts of rose - a bouquet of white, crimson and pastel blooms - this is a super radiance and hydration booster, a mask that supplements dry skin, which is invariably dull because it has a build up of dead skin cells on its surface.
• My tip: before removing, massage this mask gently into your skin to encourage nutrient-rich blood to come to the surface of your skin and enhance its glow.
• £50,
spacenk.co.uk
.

Best for congested skin: Nars Mud Mask
Uses Masada mud from the Dead Sea, seaweed and an active phytoseed complex to deep clean pores and re-energise the complexion. Smells good too, unlike most mud masks.
• My tip: before applying, steam your face for a few minutes over a bowl of just-boiled water with a drop of cleansing lemon oil in it.
• £39,
narscosmetics.co.uk
.

Best for puffy eyes: Estee Lauder Stress Relief Eye Mask
Eye pads, pre-filled with relaxing and refreshing ingredients, designed to be rested over your eyes to take down puffiness. They also work at treat at reviving tired PC-eyes.
• My tip: when they are resting on your eyes, press the pads very gently into the socket contours to get the maximum impact, and relax for ten minutes.
• £25 for ten,
esteelauder.co.uk
.